Through Your Eyes
by WinterSpirit13
Summary: Mathew and Alfred are going to spend a year abroad in England, taking classes at the university there. For the past while, Alfred had been seeing his soulmate's world which just happens to include a boyfriend. And of course, Alfred just happens to meet the said boyfriend at the university. Co-written with chasingdreamsforeternity
1. Chapter 1

_It was morning. Quiet and serene, with no particular time that he needed to get up. He could see this as no shrill alarm clock had woken him up, instead, the numbers just blinked peacefully on the screen._

 _Sun filtered through the window in the compact dorm, still a little too bright even with the grey clouds that covered the sky. He was in a bed. White sheets, and a light green comforter. It was larger than most dorm beds, just one replacing the usual two. There were, however, duplicates of the bedside tables, and desks which held a variety of books and stationery supplies._

 _The bed was messed up slightly, just enough to have been considered slept in, and when he looked to the other side of the bed, there was an empty spot._

 _Someone usually slept there._

 _He said something but wasn't sure what. They were words, but of no discernible language, tone, or pitch._

 _The other person pushed open a door that led to a small tiled bathroom with a single shower, still steamy from recent use._

 _He walked into the room with a smile. A towel was loosely wrapped around his hips, threatening to fall off any moment. He seemed to enjoy it that way, casually showing off, as if just for him._

 _He was the only other person in the room, after all._

 _The other person had lengthy blonde hair, falling in soft waves around his face. He often saw him here, in his dorm room, in his bed. He sat on the edge of the bed right beside him and leaned in closer._

 _They kissed._

Alfred woke to a blaring, piercing alarm with a groan. His alarm clock's glowing red numbers read 3:00 am. It sat on the long table that went from his bed to his brother's, the things sitting on the surface splitting it in half - alarm clocks, lamps, superhero figurines, and the like.

"Ugh, Mattie, why did we get tickets this early again? Not the best idea, bro," he mumbled, sleep still thick in his voice.

A quiet, sleepy voice responded. "Because then once we arrive in London it'll be evening and we can sleep" Matthew explains. "That way we can adjust quicker." It looked to be a logical plan at the time, but waking up this early didn't seem worth it in the moment.

"Fuck time zones, man…" Alfred pushed himself off of the bed and onto the floor, soft carpet hitting his bare feet. He wasn't in the best mood, but then again, between waking up so early and that pesky dream, it was understandable.

"Hm, again?" Alfred has already told Matthew about what he had been seeing in his dreams, and he knows his brother well enough to know what has gotten him in this mood. Matthew never chose to share his dreams with Alfred, but to each their own.

"I don't get why he'd date someone when he knows his soulmate can see it all, it's just not fair!" Alfred runs his hand through his hair, frustrated. Soulmates saw each other's life through their dreams, so it was just cruel to date someone else.

"Well, he might not know you're watching, he might not know your sleep schedule," Matthew argues. More likely, of course, is that he didn't have the same view on soulmates.

Some, like Alfred, truly believed in their soulmates. Others tried to date others, didn't put all their value on the idea of soulmates.

"You can guess from your own dreams... I guess It'll chance now though Mattie, yeah?" Alfred pauses, thinking for a moment. "Oh! Mattie, what if we're gonna be in the same timezone now, how sweet would that be! We could even be in the same country or somethin'!" Quickly, Alfred's attention shifted and his attitude lightened. "Dude, that'd be great," he smiled. "Oh, or yours too, maybe!" He added on, almost an afterthought.

"Hm, that's possible…" Matthew would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about that. "It's possible that you wouldn't see anything in your dreams, then."

"Guess we'll have to find out," Alfred decides. "Ready to leave in a few, bro?" Alfred had his belongings packed already and showered the night before. He shoved a few more video games he'd been debating on taking into his bag, but after that, he was ready to go at a moment's noticed.

"Ready whenever you are!" Matthew had, like Alfred, packed the night before and had laid out everything before sleeping. Alfred nodded in response, bringing his clothes into the bathroom, multitasking between pulling on his clothes and brushing his teeth.

It was practically a miracle that he didn't get toothpaste all over his shirt.

"Okay, let's go!" Alfred said a little too loud with a little too much enthusiasm for the time of day.

Matthew takes that as permission to start loading their stuff into the car, and once he does so he gets behind the wheel. Without anything else to do, the two head to the airport

Alfred drags them to get McDonald's before the flight for breakfast. The whole flight feels endless and uncomfortable - but what Mattie is saying is true. When they get there it's about time to sleep, anyways.

When they arrive, Matthew gets them a cab to take them to the dorm they will be staying at. Once they arrive, Matthew crashes on one of the beds, having not slept well at all on the plane.

"What, bro, no dinner first?" Alfred puts his stuff down - energy from the several cups of coffee his only fuel.

He checks out the dorm. It was simple: two beds with side tables by the window, two desks, an open closet to hang up their clothes, and a door that Alfred assumed lead to a bathroom. Something about the layout seemed familiar, but he was too sleepy to place just what seemed familiar, or why.

A rather small fridge sat by one of the walls. He opened it, but of course, it was empty. "I guess not unless you wanna go out."

"Too tired," Matthew mumbles. He was already half asleep.

Alfred shakes his head but lets his brother sleep. He thinks back - he's pretty sure he saw a vending machine somewhere in the hallway. Making sure he has a room key, Alfred leaves, settling for vending machine chips.

He opened them with a crackle, not minding the noise he made though it was fairly late. Alfred ate them on the way back.

He tosses the empty bag in the trash can in their room and changes. Alfred falls asleep, eventually, curious to see what would happen with his soulmate tonight - if he even saw him.

The next thing Alfred knows, the sun is shining through the dorm window. It was morning. Other than maybe faint memories of his soulmate getting a glass of water, he can't recall any other dreams.

His interest arose, but before any sort of delight could set in, he checks his alarm clock. The blurry numbers read something like 8:00 am.

Well, shit.

His and Mattie's English class starts in only twenty minutes.

"Fuck, Mattie, you up," asks Alfred, turning his gaze from the alarm clock to his sleeping brother, sitting up in his bed, and swinging his feet over the edge.

Matthew groans. Waking him up isn't easy, especially not after a long night like that.

"C'mon dude, we're gonna be late!" This, Alfred shouts. It's pretty clear Matthew is still only partially awake.

"Late…?" Matthew mumbles sleepily. He's beginning to wake up

"For our first class," replies Alfred, scrambling to stand up and get at least somewhat dressed. "Let's go!"

Finally awake and understanding what Alfred is saying, Matthew shoots up and frantically gets dressed as well. "How're we going to get there? Do you even know where the classroom is?"

"Uh, I've got a map? It's close to our building, I think!" Alfred points it out to Matthew on the slightly crumpled looking map that he had printed out a few weeks ago. The building they had classes in had been highlighted.

Matthew looks over at the map as he pulls on a shirt, ready to go in just a minute. "What do we need?"

"Something to write with, it's just syllabus day," replies Alfred, grabbing both of their laptops - with any luck they would even have some charge, too. Matthew nods in response, grabbing a notebook and a pencil pouch with both pencils and pens. "I'm ready when you are," he says.

Alfred rather carelessly tosses Matthew's laptop to him, heading out the door with an almost missed catching his laptop, protesting as he follows his brother out of the dorm.

"Alfred, don't just throw things like that!"

Alfred only continues to laugh, finding amusement in otherwise stressful situations. "Yeah, yeah, 'course dude!"

The two of them walked quickly, luckily finding the classroom rather easily - they were only a few minutes late. Quietly, the two of them slipped into the classroom. Eyes were drawn, but the professor didn't stop talking. Alfred and Matthew were able to find seats relatively quickly; two empty seats were available right next to the door.

It wasn't the best place to sit, and it was a bit cold because of the door, but it would do just fine (and certainly better than standing).

Someone catches Alfred's eye. He stiffened in his seat. He recognized the student sitting in front of him. His wavy blonde hair, long enough to tie up, even the shirt he was wearing.

Matthew notices how Alfred suddenly got tense, and he nudges his brother to get his attention. "What's wrong?" He whispers quietly

"That's him, " Alfred whispers back. "The guy who's dating my soulmate!" Alfred glares at the back of his head - of course, he had reason to dislike him, especially since he was here now, wherever his soulmate might be.

While he was angry, naturally, there was still a part of him that buzzed with excitement. His soulmate was here, somewhere. Maybe they would even run into each other!

Of course, since he chose to date someone who wasn't his soulmate it wouldn't be quite as romantic… but of course, whoever his soulmate was, they would just have to fall for him. It was destiny, after all.

After all, the hero always got the girl (or guy, perhaps, in his case).

"So do you think…?" Matthew doesn't finish his sentence, already knowing the answer, and moves on to the following question. "Would you want to talk to him? After class?"

"I guess I should, I mean… He'd obviously know who my soulmate is, and then they can work things out, yeah?" Alfred hopes it would work out that smoothly, anyways. Someone behind them shushes Alfred before he can speak again, however.

Matthew decides to wait until after the class ends to ask any more questions, not wanting to cause any more disruptions.

Eventually, the class ends. Alfred doesn't manage to pay much attention, but at the very least he has the assignments all written down. The problem is he's too worked up about meeting his soulmate, meeting the person who's dating his soulmate, and figuring out what to say to the said person.

As he's packing away his notebook, Alfred approaches the somewhat stranger.

Noticing someone approach him, he finishes packing his things away and turns to Alfred "Ah, is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, dude. Uh… I'm pretty sure you're kinda dating my soulmate," says Alfred, deciding to be blunt about it. He has this mostly planned out, imagining several outcomes of the situation. Hopefully, this will go well?

"Soulmate…?" It takes them a moment to realize what the American is talking about. A glimmer of recognition comes into his eyes - in a way, Alfred comes across as somewhat familiar to him. "Ah, well, if you mean Arthur, I'm afraid that you're right to assume that we are together~!" He chirps, not seeming bothered at all about Alfred's mentioning of soulmates.

He doesn't seem to care at all, let alone be bothered about it, really. "Now, if you don't mind, I have another class to get to," he says. Clearly, he isn't the type of person who considers a soulmate the most important thing, if he's content to brush Alfred off like that!

"But-!" He's gone before Alfred can say anything else.

Well, that clearly didn't go according to plan, or at least not any that he had imagined. The shock of being brushed off so casually soon registers and Alfred turns back to his brother in annoyance.

"Did you hear that guy?!" Alfred immediately complains. "He didn't even care he was dating my soulmate, he just brushed it off! What the hell, dude…"

"Well, people can have more than one opinion about soulmates, Alfred. Perhaps he doesn't believe in them. Did he give a name?" Matthew thought he heard a name, but he was too far to really hear everything clearly.

"Arthur. His name is Arthur," answers Alfred.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for sticking through until here! Since I'm writing this one with a friend it should actually update more regularly (you know, more than once a year).

Reviews would be super appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

"If you have a name, you could ask around and see if you can find him" Matthew suggests.

"I think I'm gonna," Alfred nods. "After classes anyway…" They still had two more, after all.

"Sounds like a good idea," Matthew nods, agreeing.

To Alfred, the classes seemed to drag on forever. Nothing interesting would happen the first day, of course, so his thoughts were consumed by what had occurred earlier on.

His soulmate was here, somewhere. His name was Arthur. He was dating a French guy who didn't seem to want to give up his boyfriend, even in the face of fate itself. These thoughts were much more captivating than classes. But soon enough, they were over, and Alfred could focus on his soulmate (and probably ramble on about him to his brother) in peace.

Alfred stepped outside, the brightness of the sun making him squint. He spots Matthew, and runs up beside him, waving his arm to get his brother's attention. "I guess we'll be going out for lunch, yeah?" Alfred smiles at his brother.

"Sure! Anywhere, in particular, you want to go? There's nothing around here that I know..." Matthew's still rather lost in the new country.

"There's a place in the school, we can just get food there!" Part of Alfred hopes to encounter Arthur, with or without the guy he was dating.

"Sounds good," Matthew replies, rather worn out after class. He was fine with anything in most cases - Although Alfred supposed that he would be more excited if it were a Tim Hortons or a pancake place.

"Cool! I'm pretty sure I know where it is," says Alfred, waving behind to his brother and heading to the left. A flow of students seem to be going the same way as well, and sure enough, they end up where the food is.

Alfred looks around. There were several places serving food, all with lines, and plenty of tables. "Oh, they do have burgers here bro! This is great!" His eyes shine with a bit of childish excitement as he points it out to Matthew. "You wanna go there?" The name wasn't one Alfred recognized, but the menu items were enough.

Matthew can't help but chuckle at his brother's obsession with hamburgers, but nothing sounds better to him. "Sure, why not."

Alfred lets out an excited shout, and nearly drags Matthew to the food. They order food and sit down. "Let me know if you see any suspiciously french guy, alright bro?"

"That's quite descriptive, but sure, if I see anyone who looks like that I'll tell you," says Matthew, shaking his head with a slightly amused smile set on his face, small, but still visible

Alfred nods, content, before diving into his burger. He stops midway through chewing, however, as he realizes who is next to them. Alfred says something to Matthew, not at all understandable through the food.

"I have no idea what you just said. Chew, swallow, and then speak," Matthew reminds Alfred

Alfred rolls his eyes, but does so, emphasizing every chew until he finally swallows. "There. Now, look! That's the guy that's dating my soulmate," whispers Alfred, gesturing towards them.

"Which guy? The one with the red hair?" Matthew doesn't quite tell who Alfred is trying to point out

"No! The guy with the longish blonde hair - he's kissing the other guy!" That must be Arthur, Alfred realizes. His heart sinks a bit to see him kissing someone else… not that he hasn't seen it through his dreams, but this time it was _real_.

"Ohh, I see him…" Matthew trails off when he realizes that he recognizes the person kissing the man Alfred was pointing out. "And I'm assuming that's Arthur he's kissing"

"Yeah," says Alfred, sending a glare towards the couple. "Looks like I'm going to have competition for my soulmate bro, not cool! Even though I'm totally here now, and that other guy has no reason to date him if he'd just be able to find his own stupid soulmate…"

Alfred pictured this moment much differently in his mind. He knew his soulmate was seeing someone else, but Alfred had imagined swooping in and instantly winning over Arthur, which his heroic charm.

But unfortunately, it didn't seem like that was going to happen - at least not so easily. "Ugh, what should I do? How am I going to get him to like me when he's already dating someone," Alfred asks, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"I don't know, seems like that's going to be a bit of a challenge… Maybe just talk to him first?" Matthew doesn't know if he should tell Alfred that he's seen Arthur in his own dreams, but right now it seems like his brother has enough on his plate

"Yeah, well I guess I gotta wait for his boyfriend to not be around…" Alfred huffs but sends a grateful glance to Matthew for his advice.

They spend a few minutes talking and eating until movement catches Alfred's eyes. Arthur's boyfriend has stood up, and left, saying something about the food here not being to his taste. Before Arthur gets a chance to leave to, Alfred seizes his opportunity.

"Hey, are you Arthur?"

"I am, and who might you be?" Arthur hasn't seen this boy around campus before and judging by the American accent he assumes this is one of the exchange students

"Uh, well… your soulmate, I think," said Alfred, smiling sheepishly. He only hopes this will go well

"...Excuse me?" That sort of introduction would catch anyone off-guard, Arthur included

"Well if that guy you were with earlier is your boyfriend… then I'm you're soulmate~!" Alfred extends his hand cheerfully.

"...And your name is?" Arthur doesn't want to completely deny the existence of soulmates like Francis does, but he's still rather suspicious of his stranger.

"Alfred. You've seen parts of my life through dreams yeah? And you know Mattie, my bro!" Alfred gestures towards his brother, hoping Arthur will believe him. Part of him wanted to bounce in excitement - though he was practically doing that already.

Arthur can't deny that the other boy - Matthew - looks familiar. "Nice to meet you then, Alfred. Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be". Even if this Alfred is his soulmate, Arthur's currently in a relationship. Besides, he hardly even knows this person.

Alfred pauses, a little miffed by Arthur's disinterest. However, he chooses not to let it get to him, or look too much into it. "See ya later then dude!" Alfred flashes a near blinding smile and then goes to sit back down.

"So? How'd that go?" Matthew asks curiously

"Not the greatest…" Alfred sighs and leans back into his chair. "But I'm sure I'll be able to sweep him off his feet in just a bit," he smiles confidently. There was just no way that Arthur could ever resist his soulmate after all.

Matthew can't help but chuckle a bit at his brother's confidence. He does hope it works out for him, but this is a bit amusing. "I hope that works out for you, then"

Alfred smiles and gets back to finishing his food. An excited buzz of thoughts fills his head - boyfriend or no boyfriend he knows who his soulmate is, and even got to talk to him.

* * *

Jogging a bit to catch up with Francis, Arthur rejoins him quickly with the rest of his lunch in hand. "Sorry about that, where did you want to eat again?"

"Hmm, I could always cook something at home, no?" Francis smiles mischievously at Arthur, raising an eyebrow. "Once you're finished with that," he gestures to Arthur's lunch, "I could even make some dessert~" Francis was usually flirtatious to a degree, but it was clear he was laying it on much more than usual. Perhaps Alfred had gotten under his skin?

"I certainly wouldn't mind a little dessert~" Arthur teases, picking up on what Francis is implying. "Any particular reason why now, though?" He suspects that the appearance of the American is the cause.

Francis sighs dramatically. "Must I always have a reason? Can't I simply adore my boyfriend whenever I wish?" He even clutches his heart for a dramatic flare.

He pauses and then lets out a huff. "Hmm, perhaps I would just like to remind you why you like me so much," he admits with a chuckle. "Though I wish it isn't the only reason?"

"It isn't the only reason, but it sure is a damn good one" Arthur teases with a chuckle, though it is true that their relationship was based mostly on physical attraction.

Francis smiles, happy to be the focus of Arthur's attention. Too often for his liking, it's reading or homework, or something of the like (Though Francis supposes it's a part of Arthur's personality he's come to like).

He offers his hand to Arthur, and when he takes it, he presses a suggestive kiss to Arthur's ear. Arthur may be embarrassed by such displays, however, Francis revels in it.

Arthur blushes furiously in response, huffing because he knows that is the exact reaction Francis was hoping for. "Can't even wait until we get to your apartment… I hope you know I'm expecting some actual dessert, too!"

"Mon Cher, this is me waiting until we get to my apartment," protests Francis, eyes twinkling. "And of course, what do you take me for?" Francis smiles, thinking. "Ah, but would you let me eat any of it off of you~?"

Arthur's face reddens even more at that request. "Of course not! Why would you even ask that in- in public!" His voice is wavering in embarrassment, which is frustrating, as he knows it's only going to egg him on.

Francis grins even wider. "Because I love seeing your face get so red," says Francis, rather honestly. "Besides, it's quite easy, I didn't even have to say the words 'blowjob' and-"

"Francis!" Arthur protests loudly, cutting him off before he can say anything worse. "Let's just get there quickly…"

Francis submits and the two of them walk hand in hand back to Francis's apartment.

* * *

Alfred walks in, spotting Arthur already seated. He was running a bit late so there weren't many open seats. Luckily there was one, one right next to Arthur. Alfred boosts his confidence and plops down next to him.

"Looks like we have a class together, huh, soulmate?" Alfred shoots Arthur a smile.

"What a coincidence," Arthur deadpans, not even looking up from the book he was reading.

"Whatcha reading, dude?" Alfred wonders if he can at least get to know him a little.

"A biography," Arthur replies simply, not wanting to entertain Alfred's curiosities (much to his disappointment).

"Of who?" Alfred tries to peek and find out for himself, still not completely dissuaded.

"Why does it matter to you?" Now Arthur is starting to get slightly annoyed at the questioning, but he doesn't completely hate the attention in general.

"I dunno, I just want to get to know you better!" Alfred lets his excitement overpower any dismay at Arthur's annoyance. "Do you read a lot?"

"I suppose..." He does quite enjoy reading in his spare time

"Cool!" Alfred looks like he's going to continue, but is cut off by the start of the class. Group projects are being assigned randomly, so Alfred decides to pay close attention. A small part of him hopes he would get paired with Arthur, but that was a little too cliche for Alfred to find likely.

Instead of hoping for the improbable, he tries to think of the good in any option. He didn't know many people still, so at the least, he would be able to make a new friend!

The teacher goes through a computer generated list. Not too soon after he starts, Alfred catches his name.

"-Jones and Arthur Kirkland?"

Arthur sighs slowly, knowing that this will mean having to actually spend time with the American… "Don't you dare fuck this project up for us" He whispers harshly to Alfred.

Alfred blanches. Arthur barely knows him, why would he think something like that? Despite how he acted he wasn't stupid, he was pretty smart, though history wasn't his strong point

"Jeez, wasn't planning on it," Alfred mutters. Someone _clearly_ woke up on the wrong side of his bed this morning.

It's not too long before the list of names has ended and they're allowed to meet and plan with their partners.

"So, I guess we should figure out a time to meet up to work on this?" Arthur offers, using a much gentler tone in order to try and make up for his harshness earlier

Alfred picks up on this but tries or play it off like he barely even noticed it in the first place. "Uh, I'm free most weekends if you wanna start there. Seems like the thing to not procrastinate on," Alfred jokes. He would 100% be putting this off if it weren't for the chance to get to know his soulmate.

"No, procrastination is likely not the best idea. This weekend then? We can meet in the library. I can give you my number, we can figure out the details later" Arthur is hesitant to offer his cell phone number, but he knows that it's the easiest way of communication.

Alfred smiles perhaps a bit too widely, almost bouncing in excitement. "Cool, dude! Wait, like Saturday or Sunday? Or is that part of the stuff we'll text about?"

"Which day works better for you? I'll have to check my schedule, but I'm fairly certain I have free time both days"

"Saturday then! Sweet!" That would let him justify shoving any other homework off until Sunday - Not that Arthur's answer really would have changed that plan.

The class ends without anything else of notice, and Alfred spends the rest of class thinking about what he might do for the project and lunch. Well, mostly lunch.

Matthew searches around for Alfred in the dining area they both decided to go to for lunch, running over to his brother when he eventually spots him. "Hey! How's class go?"

"Guess who has a group project with his soulmate?" Alfred responds to Matthew with another question, swinging his arms happily as they walked.

"Hm… let me guess… you?" Matthew teases, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Yup," Alfred smiles. "And he's gotta like me more if we spend time together, yeah?"

"Well, there's no promises he'll like you but he's got to at least get to know you better" Though most people that know Alfred like him, so Matthew figures that Arthur will like him too

"Has a soulmate ever not been liked by their soulmate?" Alfred asked, suddenly nervous

"I mean, I'm sure it's happened before, it can't be perfect." Matthew is a romantic himself, but he also tries to think realistically - nothing can be destined for happiness every single time, after all.

"Guess we'll just have to see," shrugs Alfred. It puts an end to the conversation, but not to his excitement for spending time with Arthur. That, Alfred still clung to.


End file.
